


Taeyong's Tuesday

by xuxicentric



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Romance, eunwoo is mentioned ha, hint at renhyuck, maybe even johnten who knows, really messy though, taeyong feels a lot of things, taeyong just wants a normal day, this is just fluff, yuwin is there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2018-11-22
Packaged: 2019-08-27 16:51:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16706275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xuxicentric/pseuds/xuxicentric
Summary: Taeyong has his Tuesday all planned out, but when Ten calls him as soon as he wakes up, he says goodbye to his perfect Tuesday.Or not.





	Taeyong's Tuesday

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I really enjoyed plotting this, and I hope you enjoy reading it! Do leave comments below, i love reading them uwu >///< posting this seven minutes before the release of Simon Says MV! Don't forget to stream~ thank you so much, i hope you have fun reading this as much as I had writing it.

Taeyong has his Tuesday all planned out.

He’d wake up at exactly nine in the morning, courtesy of his alarm of course, and get ready in an hour to drive thirty minutes to the mall, where he’d wander around for one and a half hour. He’d eat his lunch at twelve noon for about forty-five minutes before he’d go straight to the supermarket to buy some groceries. He should be done around two in the afternoon, giving him plenty of time to head to his boyfriend’s place, which takes about twenty minutes from the mall, and at exactly three in the afternoon, Taeyong would already start preparing their dinner. He’s planning to prepare a simple three-course meal, of course, since it’s not all the time Taeyong has the privilege to cook something nice for the love of his life. Taeyong wants to prepare a light salad for their appetizer, whip up some lasagna for the main course, and make crème brulee for dessert. And at _exactly_ six in the evening, (or six o’ five, since Jaehyun drives a little slow sometimes), the front door of his boyfriend’s pad will open, revealing the man he’s been dying to see for a few days now. After that, Taeyong has literally _no_ _idea_ of what would happen next because Jaehyun likes things a little spontaneous especially when they’re together, (“Babe, you should really relax a little”) so Taeyong lets him do whatever he wants because he everything’s really okay with him as long as he’s with Jaehyun.

But Taeyong’s Tuesday plans are now changed (read: ruined) when he suddenly gets a call from one of his best friends.

“Hi, Ten. What’s up?” Taeyong greets, sitting up on his bed before glancing at his bedside clock. _I still have fifty-eight minutes._

“Taeyong, oh my god, you’re awake, you’re a literal lifesaver!” Ten sighs in relief at the other end of the line.

Taeyong furrows his eyebrows in confusion. _Lifesaver?_ “Wait, what are you—“

“Okay so I have a ton of shit to do today, like really, _really_ important errands and I’m supposed to finish them all by today but then I got a call from my boss and now—“ Taeyong hears Ten apologizing in Japanese.

“Ten, don’t fucking tell me—“

“I’m in Japan, surprise bitch!” Ten chuckles. “And now I need your help.”

“What.” Taeyong deadpans. “Ten, I have the whole day planned out.”

His best friend fucking _purrs_ at the end of the line and Taeyong knows what’s about to come next.

“Taeyongie, won’t you help Tennie out? He really needs your help and—“

“Okay! Okay, fucking fine, just stop that.” He huffs in frustration, annoyed with the fact that his plans are now disintegrating into thin air. “What do you need me to do?”

An hour later, Taeyong finds himself parking in front of his alma mater.

_“I need some files from our uni, the job I’m applying for in the US is asking for it.”_

He enters the gates and notices not much has changed ever since they graduated years back. He goes straight to the office and asks for Ten’s files. It’s quicker than Taeyong expected, so he decides to wander around for a little, thinking he’s got plenty of time to do the rest of the things Ten’s asking him to do. He spots a familiar place, the place where he met Jaehyun. Cliché as it sounds, they first met _properly_ (because you know, Taeyong has had a slight crush on the basketball team’s MVP ever since he first laid eyes on him) on one of the hallways of the university, but their first meeting was anything but cute. Taeyong still laughs whenever he remembers that day.

_“Fuck, fuck, I’m going to be fucking late. Damn Yuta and his stupid alarm clock.” Taeyong mutters as he ran for his life, heading towards the hallway with the lockers for the students in the Bachelor of Arts. Taeyong has no care or whatsoever for everything around him as he’s focused on getting to class before his monster of a professor does, so focused that he doesn’t notice his handkerchief fall as he sprints to his locker. He opens his locker too forcefully, but Taeyong doesn’t care. Or he doesn’t, until he realizes he’s hit someone with his carelesness._

_“Holy shit, I am so sorry!” The victim looks up, still a hand over his bleeding nose, and Taeyong curses at himself over and over again when he realizes it’s Jung Jaehyun. The man he has hit with the door of his locker is Jung Jaehyun._

_Taeyong panics, of course. Taeyong’s not Taeyong if he doesn’t panic over anything, but Jaehyun tries to calm him down by holding his handkerchief up, eyes turning into crescents when he smiles at Taeyong. “You dropped this.”_

It’s still a little weird—how of all people, it just _had_ to be Jaehyun who picked his handkerchief up and _why_ Jaehyun even bothered to do so when the hallways he ran past were packed with people. It seemed a little unnatural for someone to notice a small thing like a handkerchief fall off another’s pocket, but Taeyong shrugged it off, thinking Jaehyun’s just observant like that.

Taeyong decides he’s done enough roaming around and walks back to the parking area, but not before he sees the gym when he starts to head back. Sophomore Taeyong never imagined that he’d be spending the rest of his years hanging by the gym, waiting for his _boyfriend_ to finish practice, but he’s glad, though, if it weren’t for Jaehyun, Taeyong thinks he wouldn’t even be where he is right now. Jaehyun brought out the potential, the talent, the skills, the _emotions_ Taeyong never knew he had.

And he’s forever thankful for that.

_He walks inside the gym and sees hundreds, maybe even thousands of people packing the whole place, each holding balloons and banners that mostly read Jaehyun’s name written in huge neon letters. Taeyong’s beginning to rethink his life choices and begins to walk away when he bumps into Ten, one of Jaehyun’s friends._

_“Oh, hey! Taeyong, right? Jae’s been talking non-stop about you. You here to watch the game?” The small man asks, a little too cheery, but Taeyong doesn’t mind._

_“Uhh, I don’t think there are seats left?” He replies, unsure._

_“Nonsense, Jae told me to reserve a seat for you right up front, by the courtside. Come with me!” Ten takes Taeyong’s hand and drags him to two empty adjacent seats, one beside Johnny Seo, the team’s official photographer, and the other beside an all too familiar backpack. Ten sits him beside the bag before sitting beside him, “That’s Jae’s stuff.”_

_Taeyong mumbles a soft ‘I know’, but no one hears._

_“Here, hold this for me will you?” Ten hands him a big water bottle before continuing. “And oh, meet Johnny, he’s a good friend of Jae and I. Johnny, we have here the Lee Taeyong.”_

_Johnny smirks before extending a hand for Taeyong. “Jesus, there has not been a day where I haven’t heard your name.”_

_Taeyong’s confused. Why? How…?_

_But he gets sidetracked when he hears the whole gym erupt into cheers when the team runs out to the court and starts to play. But despite the number of men running around, dribbling, passing, and all that shit, Taeyong’s eyes are focused on one person on the court._

_‘He’s breathtaking.’ Taeyong thinks in awe. He watches Jaehyun play intently and admires how the man puts all of his passion into what he’s doing. But he snaps out of it when his eyes meet Jaehyun, who’s in the middle of the court, winking at him._

_What._

_Suddenly, he hears the referee whistle and realizes Jaehyun’s jogging over to their side. He’s so out of it that he fails to notice Jaehyun’s already standing in front of him. “Hey, is that for me?” Taeyong gets back on his feet when he hears Jaehyun’s voice and sees him gesturing at the water bottle in Taeyong’s hand._

_“Y-yeah.” Taeyong’s hands are shaking as he hands the bottle over to Jaehyun, while the latter squats down so he’s a bit more leveled with Taeyong. Taeyong stares at him and realizes Jaehyun’s sweating like crazy. But Jaehyun’s still drinking, and he has over fifteen seconds left before he heads back to the game._

_So Taeyong grabs a towel from Jaehyun’s bag and wipes the sweat off Jaehyun’s head._

_The player’s startled, alright. But Taeyong’s so concentrated on his attempt to dry Jaehyun off he ignores the fact that all eyes are on him right now because really, it’s not everyday you see someone take care of the star player. Boy, Taeyong was brave._

_Taeyong pouts as he fails to completely dry him off, but Jaehyun stands up and pats Taeyong’s cheek. “Thank you. All my next shots are for you.” He winks at him and runs back to the court._

_Needless to say, all of Jaehyun’s attempts scored._

Taeyong blushes at the memory, thinking where the hell did he get that confidence from. He shakes his head and smiles, walking down the pavement back to his car. He sees a group of students practicing their routines for a cheer dance near the badminton courts, and the soccer team playing a mock game on the field. As his eyes graze around the entirety of the campus, a familiar bench catches his attention.

‘ _Ah’_ Taeyong thinks of what happened in that very bench that one night.

_Taeyong’s dead tired. He’s been running around the campus the whole day only because his org president decided to just fuck it and leave the damn position, making Taeyong the one responsible for all work that’s left._

_Which is a lot._

_So now it’s eleven in the evening and there’s close to no more students inside the premises at this hour, and Taeyong’s a little sad because he was supposed to meet Jaehyun for dinner tonight. He can’t help but feel a little pain in his heart whenever he remembers the hint of sadness he thinks he’s heard while he was on the phone with Jaehyun hours ago, telling him their plans have to be canceled tonight._

_“What time will you be done, then?” Jaehyun asks._

_“I don’t know, Jae. I still have a lot to do.”_

_“You want me to help you?”_

_“No, please, I’m okay. Besides, I don’t want people swarming the outside of the office because you’re here.” Taeyong stifles out a light laugh._

_“Food, then? What do you want to eat?” Taeyong smiles at Jaehyun’s cuteness and feels a blush creeping in his cheeks because of the said man._

_“I’m okay, Jaehyun-ah. I bought something to nibble on a while ago. Besides, I don’t really eat much when I’m working. Now, please go home? You still have a big game tomorrow. You need rest.”_

_“But—“_

_“Go home, Jaehyun. Text me when you are, alright? Stay safe.” He could hear the other’s protests at the end of the line but Taeyong decides to cut the line because he knows he might eventually give in to Jaehyun’s ideas if he still keeps on talking to him. Taeyong goes back to work._

_That’s why Taeyong’s shocked to see Jaehyun sitting on one of the benches, playing something on his phone._

_“Jaehyun? What are you doing here? “_

_Jaehyun immediately shuts his phone off. “Hey! You’re done! I have something for you. Please eat.” Jaehyun hands him a paper bag with cookies and a carton of milk in it._

_“Jaehyun, it’s late.” He stands right in front of Jaehyun and cards his fingers through the other’s hair. “I told you to head home.”_

_“But you’re going home alone.” Jaehyun pouts. “I can’t really sleep knowing you’re still not at home, Yong.”_

_Taeyong sighs, but a smile is ghosting on his face. “Fine, let’s go now, hm?” He lays his hand out for Jaehyun, to which the other gladly accepts, fingers intertwined in a matter of seconds._

Taeyong smiles to himself as he’s nearing the gates, but he bumps into an old friend.

“Kun!” He envelops the taller into a warm hug and a pat on the back before letting go. “How long has it been?”

“Shut up, Taeyong-ah. We saw each other at Jaehyun’s place two weeks ago.” Kun jokes.

“Whatever, maybe I was black-out drunk when you arrived.”

“So when are you moving in with Jaehyun? You know, he’s not the worst roommate, even if he leaves his socks around the place.” Taeyong laughs, agreeing on how it’s Jaehyun’s worst habit.

“I know, I don’t understand how you put up with him for four years in college, Kun. He was so much worse back in college.” The two chuckle and Taeyong knows if Jaehyun was here, he’d be glaring at Kun right now.

“Oh, right!” Kun fumbles with the bag slung over his shoulder and pulls his wallet out. Then he takes a familiar photo from it and hands it over to Taeyong. “I forgot to give you this years ago! Man, that’s from the day he asked you to be his boyfriend, right?”

Taeyong stares at the photo in both amazement and confusion. Wasn’t this with Jaehyun?

“Hey, I gotta run now Tae. I’ll see you soon, though? I’m late for a meeting, bye!” Kun sprints away before Taeyong can even ask why the photo was with Kun when all along he thought the photo was with his boyfriend.

 _Huh,_ he thought, _guess I’ll have to ask Jaehyun later._

What Taeyong fails to notice is the one thing new to this old photo: the word ‘ _will’_ written on the back.

 

* * *

 

Taeyong arrives at the second place on Ten’s list. He glances at his watch and mutters to himself, “I should’ve been doing some groceries now.”

_Next, I’m supposed to drop by the orphanage to hand in my donation for the month. Be a dear and cover it for me for the meantime, please?_

But Taeyong doesn’t mind the fact that he’s at the orphanage right now. In fact, he’s been meaning to visit this place for a while now but he never found the time. Guess Ten’s tasks were not a waste of his day after all.

He steps inside the gates and is immediately reminded of the times their organization came here for community outreaches. Taeyong loved helping people, and his club back in uni allowed him to do exactly that. But this orphanage became one of the ways on how he came to know the real Jung Jaehyun.

_“Dongmin-ah,” Taeyong calls their club’s president. “Since when did Jung Jaehyun become a member?”_

_Dongmin and Taeyong stand and stare at Jaehyun, who was playing tag with the kids. “He asked me yesterday if he could join in such a late notice. I was taken aback to be honest, I mean, isn’t he always busy with basketball?” Taeyong nods in agreement, eyes still fixated on Jaehyun. “Anyway, I told him I’d have to reconsider, but he kept on pleading me? I don’t know why, but he was keen on joining, so I told him he’d have to prove himself today.”_

_Taeyong knows Jaehyun’s not that bad, he’s his crush for god’s sake, but Taeyong doesn’t actually know Jaehyun. Regardless of what Taeyong thinks was Jaehyun’s attempts to flirt with him days ago in his basketball game, they never really talked again after. One of Jaehyun’s friends though, Ten, stuck with Taeyong like glue after that day._

_“Gather round, kids!” Dongmin shouts for everyone to hear. “We have a little something for you!” Taeyong walks to his designated spot for the distribution, but Jaehyun’s figure catches his eyes. He sees the latter walking towards a little boy sitting at the far corner of the garden, watching the rest of the kids run to where Dongmin was. He recognizes the kid, it’s Renjun, and he has always been like this ever since he moved in a little over three months ago. Taeyong has long attempted to get closer to Renjun, as he sees the kid is always left alone and refuses to play with the others despite everyone’s attempts, even Taeyong’s. but the closest he’s gotten to Renjun was when he offered him a cup of ice cream, earning an accented ‘thank you’ from the boy._

_So when he sees Renjun smiling at Jaehyun and standing up right after to run to towards the rest of the kids, he gets shocked. More than shocked, honestly. I mean, Jaehyun couldn’t have threatened the kid, right? Renjun was smiling, so Taeyong crosses that possibility off his mind. Taeyong doesn’t even realize he’s been staring at Jaehyun for a while now, and the latter catches this and smiles before walking towards Taeyong._

_“Fuck, fuck, fuck” Taeyong mutters._

_“Hey, couldn’t help but notice you were staring.” Jaehyun comments, still grinning from ear-to-ear._

_“I-how did you manage to convince Renjun to join the kids?”_

_“Easy, I saw the way he looked at Donghyuck and told him if he joined them, then Donghyuck would want to be friends with him.”_

_He drops his jaw open. “What? Renjun wants Donghyuck to be his friend? But Donghyuck’s loud!” Taeyong is honestly confused and surprised—no wait, that’s an understatement for what he’s feeling right now._

_“Eh, I don’t think Renjun minds noise, or he doesn’t mind Donghyuck’s...Whatever it is, I’m just glad he’s made a new friend. Look.” And there Taeyong sees Donghyuck and Renjun sharing the contents of the loot bag they got._

_Taeyong stares at Jaehyun in amazement. “How did you know? I mean, how did you figure out?”_

_“I love kids, that’s why.” Jaehyun’s eyes were fixated on the two kids. “And it just breaks me to see one of them all alone, so I kept a close eye on Renjun the whole time.”_

_And right then and there, Taeyong swears he could hear the loud beating of his heart as he gazed at Jaehyun._

Taeyong grins at the memory. Who would have ever thought their story would escalate in this very place?

_“Hey, kids!” Jaehyun calls out their attention, with Donghyuck and Renjun being the first ones to turn their eyes to the man whose arm’s currently hung over Taeyong’s shoulder. “Don’t we look good together?”_

_It’s been four visits then since Jaehyun’s first, and the kids, especially Renjun, took quite a liking towards Jaehyun. They would always pay close attention whenever Jaehyun said something to them, to the point where Dongmin had handed over the task officially to Jaehyun._

_“Jaehyun, what are you doing?” Taeyong asks him, cheeks already red beet. He tries to struggle free from Jaehyun’s hold because he’s really embarrassed right now and he thinks an inch closer towards the guy he’s been crushing so hard on for the past year would literally end his life._

_“You do, hyung! You look great together.” Donghyuck shouts back, Renjun giving him a high-five afterward._

_This just prompts Jaehyun to pull Taeyong closer. “I’m gonna marry him someday, I swear.”_

_The kids begin to tease them, but Taeyong can’t hear anything, because all that’s on his mind were the words ‘I’m gonna marry him someday, I swear.’_

Taeyong’s thoughts are interrupted by voices that were gradually getting louder.

“Hyung! Taeyong hyung!” Soon after, two pairs of arms find their way around Taeyong’s small body, and Taeyong eases into the touch. He sees Renjun and Donghyuck smiling widely at him.

“I missed you guys.” He ruffles their hair and walks with them to the inside. Renjun and Donghyuck lead the way to the headmistress’ office, but Taeyoung couldn’t help but notice how the two’s hands were tightly clasped around each other. “Aren’t you going to ask where Jaehyun is? I know he’s your favorite.”

“Eh, we know he’s busy. Besides, last week he—“ Renjun suddenly nudged Donghyuck, who immediately realized what he was saying. “He—he called us, yeah, he checked up on us last week.”

“Right, anyway, I’m not staying long this time, I still have to do some stuff, but I’ll come back here with Jaehyun soon, yeah?” Taeyong promises as he pushes the office door open.

“Wait, hyung, we have something for you!” Renjun says, half-shouting, startling Taeyong.

“O-kay? Where is it?”

“Wait here, no wait, head in for the headmistress first and wait for us here when you’re done okay?” The two don’t even wait for Taeyong’s response as they already run back to their room. Taeyong shakes his head as he beams.

It takes no longer than three minutes inside the headmistress’ office, and when he exits, he’s already greeted by Donghyuck and Renjun again, who’s now holding a CD.

“We made a mixtape for you, hyung! Look here, we wrote the word ‘YOU’ on it!” Donghyuck pipes in, looking proud of what they have done.

“It has the songs you and Jaehyun hyung used to sing for us.” Renjun smiles softly.

The gesture touches Taeyong’s heart and envelops the two in a hug. “Thank you for this, so much.”

“No problem, hyung! Now off you go, you don’t want to be late!” Renjun once again shoots his friend a look, to which the latter ignored. “See you very soon, hyung!” Donghyuck takes Renjun’s hand and drags him to the hallway, running towards their room.

* * *

 

On his drive to his last destination for the day, Taeyong pops in the CD Renjun and Donghyuck just gave him and immediately hears a very familiar tune.

_Look at the stars, look how they shine for you._

Jaehyun always sang this for Taeyong over the phone when he called the former whenever he couldn’t sleep.

“And they were all yellow.” Taeyong sings along, a smile lingering on his lips. At that moment, he decides to call Jaehyun.

_“The number you have dialed is currently unavailable, please try—“_

_That’s weird.”_ Taeyong thinks. It’s on a rare occasion that Jaehyun’s too busy to answer his call, but he shrugs it off, thinking something must have come up in the office.

He continues driving when he gets a call from Yuta.

“Hey, Yuta, I’m on my way to your bar, just give me ten more minutes.”

“Ten minutes?!” Taeyong hears shuffling in the background. “Oh, uh, ten minutes and you’re here, you say?”

 _“Ten minutes?”_ A voice says in the background.

Wait, Taeyong recognizes that voice.

“Yuta, is Jaehyun there?”

“Huh?” Yuta answers almost immediately, which is a little suspicious to Taeyong. “Why would Jaehyun be here? Isn’t he at work?”

Taeyong decides Yuta’s making sense, but not before reassuring himself Jaehyun’s not there. “Who was that, then?”

“It’s Sicheng, his voice is a little weird right now because he’s sick. I’m sending him home now, I’ll you soon TY bye!” The call ends abruptly, but Taeyong’s not even surprised with how his friend’s actions. He knows Yuta can be really weird at times.

He pulls over in front of the bar and gets out, only to see Yuta waiting for him by the entrance, grinning at him mischievously.

“I can’t believe Ten talked me into doing this. I’m supposed to be free from help-Yuta-duties for three more weeks!” Taeyong huffs, walking inside. Yuta throws him an apron and Taeyong starts working right away.

“He’s in Japan right? I can’t believe I didn’t get an invite.”

“As if you could leave Sicheng.” Taeyong snorts.

“Hey!” Yuta turns to Taeyong, arms crossed. “I’ll have you know, I’d bring my husband along anywhere.”

“Of course you would.”

They continue tending the whole place for two straight hours; the place was jampacked because of the new drinks Yuta has for today. They only get to rest when the bar closes for three hours before it opens again at eight in the evening. Taeyong removes the apron and sits at one of the cushions comfortably, sinking down, while Yuta’s out back, organizing the drinks for tonight. He looks around for a bit before a memory strikes him.

His first fight with Jaehyun.

_Taeyong pulls the door open angrily and spots Jaehyun easily sitting on of the stools while talking to the bartender. He got a call from Yuta thirty minutes ago that Jaehyun was there, already two bottles of rum down when the latter hasn’t even answered him his calls since he finished his classes, and now he finds out he’s here, drinking what looks like his life away? Okay, well, Taeyong understands, because he knows Jaehyun’s annoyed with him because he’s snapped at him for “bugging him too much when Jaehyun knows he’s too busy for other things.”_

_He stomps over where his boyfriend is and snatches the glass the other was about to drink. Taeyong gulps it down in one go, and it surprises Jaehyun since Taeyong’s not very good with handling alcohol. “Listen here, Jung Jaehyun. You don’t fucking drown in alcohol without talking to me about this whole mess, okay? Now stop—“ Taeyong snatches the bottle from Jaehyun, who’s attempting to drink straight from it, “—that and talk to me.”_

_“Tss, it’s not like I’m important to you. Go back to your work or something, I don’t care. Just leave me here.” Jaehyun said, voice a little slurred._

_This brings Taeyong to tears. God, he’s trying so hard not to crumble in front of Jaehyun but this stubborn man right in front of him makes it hard for Taeyong not to do so. He’s so mad at himself for making Jaehyun feel like this when all Jaehyun has done was to make sure he was okay, that he was eating and resting still, despite drowning in a lot of work load._

_Taeyong thinks he’s at fault for this whole mess. But Jaehyun thinks otherwise._

_Because as soon as he sees tears from Taeyong’s eyes, Jaehyun jerks wide awake, pulling Taeyong closer to him._

_“No, no baby, no please don’t cry, please.” Jaehyun pleads. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry for being an insensitive jackass, for ignoring your calls, for drinking this shitty stuff instead of talking to you and fixing this, I’m sorry. Please, please.” Jaehyun kisses the tears away from Taeyong’s face. “Please, don’t cry. It hurts seeing you cry.”_

_Taeyong wraps his hands around Jaehyun’s neck tighter because he thinks the tighter he holds Jaehyun, the less chance the latter would slip away from him. “I’m sorry, you’re more important than whatever I’m doing, okay? I’m sorry for snapping at you. I’m sorry. Please don’t leave me.”_

_Jaehyun places a kiss on Taeyong’s forehead before staring straight into his boyfriend’s eyes. “I love you, okay?  I won’t ever leave you, how many times have I reminded you I won’t? I love you, okay?”_

_The smaller man nods into Jaehyun’s touch, nuzzling his head on the other’s neck._

_“Hey, I got you some butterscotches on the way here. Peace offering.”_

_Taeyong immediately lets go and grabs the sweet from Jaehyun’s hand, and Jaehyun could only laugh._

“Hey.” Yuta’s voice snaps him out of his daydream. “You doing okay?”

“Yeah, just a little tired.” Yuta sits beside him and the two stare at the ceiling.

“How’s Sicheng, by the way?”

“Oh you know, still very much loved by me.” His friend jokes. “He’s thinking of going back to China for a vacation. A month, I think. I’m still plotting out the dates on when we should go so I’d close the bar without any problem. You know I don’t like the thought of someone else running this place without me.”

“Won’t you be held back a little by that? I mean there are tons of other bars opening up from corner to corner, and closing up for a month might mean you’d lose some of your regulars.”

Yuta shrugs. “Eh, I don’t mind. As long as Sicheng’s happy.”

Taeyong stops for a moment to think about his friend’s words. “Hey, Yuta, when did you realize Sicheng was, you know, the one?”

Yuta blushes at the question. “Well, I don’t know? I mean, I was here tending, but there weren’t any customers around, so I started imagining stuff and I just…I started imagining what it would be like finally marrying him. I mean, unlike you and Jaehyun right now, we were living together at that time so there isn’t really much difference if I marry him or not because the situation we were in that time was like that of a married couple already. But you know, thinking about how I’m finally going to be able to tell people proudly that I’m his husband, and that we’re legally partners, it just gives me a good feeling, you know? And we’re allowed to adopt our own kid now, and that just, that just lit something up in me, Taeyong.”

Taeyong observes the way Yuta’s eyes shine in glorious light whenever he talks about Sicheng, but this time, Yuta’s whole face just…glowed.

He begins to imagine what it would be like being married to Jaehyun. To wait for Jaehyun open their front door and pepper his husband’s face with kisses, to enjoy his Sundays in Jaehyun’s embrace as they try to get up and actually go out for once but they both eventually fail because the bed feels a lot _nicer_ than the outside. To design their house that caters to Jaehyun’s monochromatic taste and Taeyong’s nitpickiness for the smallest details. To finally sign those adoption papers they’ve been waiting for _so long,_ and then, they’d finally be the family they always dreamt of.

And Taeyong finally understands that _something_ Yuta’s been talking about. Something inside of Taeyong just came to life when he finally realizes that after seven long years of being with Jung Jaehyun, he’s finally ready to marry him.

“Hey, TY?”

“Yeah?” Taeyong’s still in a daze from his imagination.

“I don’t mean to interrupt your daydreaming, but it’s already forty-five minutes past five, isn’t Jaehyun getting off from work anytime soon?”

His eyes widen, flying straight to his watch. “Oh shit, thanks Yuta.”

“Wait, before you go,” Yuta hands him a bottle of pink wine. “Here, I had it flown from San Francisco. It’s really good. You should enjoy this with Jaehyun tonight.” His friend winks at him, and Taeyong coughs when he reads the name of the rose wine.

 _“Marry Me?_ Really now, Yuta?”

Yuta chuckles, “Go.”

He waves his friend a goodbye before hopping inside his car and driving away. He calls Jaehyun to tell him he’s on his way to his place, but the latter still not answering.

“Really busy, are we, Jaehyun?” He whispers to no one, dialing Ten’s number instead.

“Taeyong! Where are you?” Ten answers him, a voice little too loud for Taeyong at six in the evening.

“I’m on my way to Jae’s. I finished them all, you owe me a lot, I hate you.”

“And I actually know you don’t.” God, Taeyong can _see_ Ten pulling his tongue out to spite him.

“Whatever, anyway, have you talked to Jaehyun over the phone all day? I can’t seem to reach his cell.”

“I just finished my schedule for the day, Tae. I haven’t talked to anyone besides you this morning.”

Taeyong sighs, a little worried for Jaehyun now. “Alright, I’ll see you soon, Ten. Bring some chocolates home.”

He arrives at Jaehyun’s place after fifteen minutes and presses in Jaehyun’s passcode. In his hand are Ten’s files, his wallet, his cell phone, the photo from Kun, the CD Renjun and Donghyuck gave him, and the wine Yuta gifted. He scans the living room and sees no sign of Jaehyun arriving home earlier than him, so he lays all of his stuff down on the coffee table and plops on Jaehyun’s couch.

Taeyong grabs the photo and stares at his and Jaehyun’s faces, smiling for the camera, with his arms around Jaehyun’s waist and the latter’s around his. He flips the photo over and finally sees the word _‘will’_ written on its back.

“Will…?”

Taeyong’s heart suddenly thumps at a very fast rate, his hands shaking as he lays the flipped photo on the table, putting it beside the CD.

Everything that was given to him by people dear to him today, all laid out on the table, with the words

“Will…you…marry me?”

 _“So will you?”_ Taeyong’s head snaps in the direction of the voice and there he sees Jaehyun, kneeling down on one knee, a ring on his hand, waiting for Taeyong.

He stands up from the couch, still fazed by what’s happening right in front of him. He can’t believe this is happening right now.

He walks closer to Jaehyun and takes Jaehyun’s hands, pulling him up to stand, but Jaehyun refuses. “Please, please hear me out first, before you say anything, please hear me out first.”

And so Taeyong does.

“Eight years ago, I saw this man sitting alone in the cafeteria with headphones plugged in and a book right in front of him. When he raised his head and ran his fingers through his hair, my breath was literally taken away. I couldn’t breathe for a few seconds because I was enthralled of how beautiful he was. I kept quiet about my little crush on him, though. Part of it was because I knew how some would react once I told everyone I had someone I liked, but a part of it was because I didn’t want anyone to notice him the way I did because I was so afraid someone better would take him away from me.” Jaehyun paused, gaze still fixated in Taeyong’s already tear-stained face. He holds Taeyong’s hand tighter.

“A year later though, I finally got the chance to introduce myself to him, and seeing him from afar never made justice to the feeling of seeing him up close, and though I bled like crazy that day, it was all worth it. But I realized he was too shy to approach me after that, so I did everything I could to be closer to him, asking him to watch our game, even joining the organization he belongs to even if my basketball coach made me run 40 laps for that.” Taeyong stifles out a laugh, hands finding their way to Jaehyun’s cheeks.

“And now, eight years later, I’m kneeling in front of him, asking him to marry me.”

Taeyong’s legs gave out, too weary from what he’s feeling right now, and so he kneels in front of Jaehyun, now leveled the same with the love of his life.

“Lee Taeyong, you complete me. God, you make my life worth living. You make everyday something to look forward to. You stir up emotions in me I never thought I had, you make me feel like I’m worthy of everything that’s good, and you bring out the very best in me. You’ve helped me succeed, you’ve always, always held my hand, and you made me so much better. And now I’m asking for your permission, allow me to give back to you. Allow me to repay you in ways I can because I’m very willing to spend the rest of my life doing what I’m able to just to make you happy, Taeyong-ah. I’m willing to plot your scheduled days into my life so I’d always be a part of your day, I’m willing to let go of a few of my unplanned dates, but I’d still drag your ass out randomly because you need a little unexpected in your life too. I’m going to do anything, everything, just to see you smile, even smear chocolate fudge on my face because for some reason, it makes you laugh.” Taeyong giggles a little, an image of Jaehyun with chocolate on his face popping in his head. “And I’m willing to cross my lifetimes just to find you in each one of them, just to make sure I end up with you, always.” Jaehyun brings his face an inch closer, their foreheads already touching each other.

“Please, marry me.”

Taeyong replies to him by placing his lips on Jaehyun’s, answering him in the sweetest way possible. A tear escapes Taeyong’s eyes again, still overwhelmed by the happiness he’s feeling. They break apart seconds later, noses still in contact.

“Yes, I will. There’s nothing I’d want more than spending my life with you as my husband, my partner…” He chokes on his tears, but still a wide smile on his face. “…my everything.” Taeyong manages to blurt out despite shaking from everything that’s happening. “Yes, I will marry you, Jung Jaehyun.”

He’s hoisted up in the air, Jaehyun circling him around. He laughs and tightens his hold around Jaehyun’s neck. His fiancé stops and puts him down, but arms still around his waist, pulling him in what seemed like less than a distance. Taeyong sees tears fall from Jaehyun’s eyes and wipes it with his thumb. They look at each other, eyes conveying the emotions that their words cannot speak, happiness, contentment, and love, a whole lot of love, radiating all around the room.

“I love you, Jae.”

Jaehyun kisses the tip of Taeyong’s nose, sliding down the ring on his finger. “I can’t wait to spend my entire life with you.”

 

* * *

 

Prequel: [Jaehyun's Tuesday](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17727665)


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